Boulder police arrested a former Arvada high school teacher for allegedly filming sexual exploitation videos of juveniles and distributing them on various websites.

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office arrested 39-year-old Patricio Alejandro Illanes after a four-month investigation by Boulder County Digital Forensics Lab detectives and members of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, according to a news release.

Illanes was arrested on suspicion of 40 felony counts and 10 misdemeanor counts, including creating material of sexual exploitation of a child, distributing the material and unlawful practice of occupation or profession, according to court records.

The investigation began in September when the sheriff’s office received three tips regarding child sex materials connected to an online account tied to Illanes.

Illanes’ cell phone was eventually confiscated. The phone revealed multiple videos of apparent juveniles engaged in sexually explicit activities that were then distributed to websites.

The phone also showed that Illanes allegedly photographed and filmed juveniles who were asked to “perform a script” in front of a green screen mimicking a hypnotic state, the sheriff’s office said.

Four out-of-state juveniles have been identified and interviewed related to the investigation. Additional hypnosis-like photographs were found by investigators, which depicted clothed students in a school setting.

Illanes was an English teacher at Arvada Senior High School between August 2024 and October 2025.

In a subsequent statement, the high school said that the teacher was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 14, immediately after officials found out about the investigation. He was terminated on Dec. 18.

“At this time we are not aware of any victims in Jeffco,” the district said.

Illanes’ history working with juveniles stretches back to 2010 in the metro area.

His work history includes:

• 2010-2015: City of Longmont Children and Youth Services, Longmont
• 2013-2025: TGTHR (formerly known as Attention Homes) in Boulder and Longmont
• 2013-2017: New Meridian Alternative High School (formerly known as Olde Columbine) Longmont
• 2015-2021: Longmont Library – Children and Teens Section, Longmont
• 2017-2019: Centaurus High School, Lafayette
• 2019-2020: Mapleton School District (intern), Denver
• 2019-2023: Erie Middle School, Erie
• 2019-2023: Erie High School, Erie
• 2024-2025: Arvada Senior High School, Arvada

Victims, or parents of victims, are asked to contact the police department located in the city the incidents may have occurred, the sheriff’s office said.

Along with the current case, Illanes had three DUI convictions in Boulder County between 2014 and 2024, according to court records.

There were six sexual misconduct-related incidents throughout the district since the end of 2023, including an investigation into David Weiss, the school district’s former chief of schools, that involved possession of child sexual assault material in December 2024.

“As parents and educators, we take the privilege and responsibility of providing a safe and welcoming learning environment for our staff, students and families very seriously,” Arvada High Schools said in the release. “We will continue to work in partnership with (Boulder County Sheriff’s Office) and Arvada Police to support the investigation.”

The school district did not respond to a request for a statement by the time of this report.